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This is a June 26, 2003 file photo of Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, as he shares a limousine with Britain's Prince Charles in London, during a visit to Britain by Putin. Photo: AP Photo/Tim Ockenden/PA, File

HALIFAX — The royal visit to Canada has made headlines in Britain’s Daily Mail for what the tabloid reported was a remark in which Prince Charles likened Russian President Vladimir Putin to Adolf Hitler when talking with a woman who lost relatives in the Holocaust.

Charles made the comment during a visit Monday to the Canadian Museum of Immigration in Halifax, the Daily Mail said.

The newspaper reported museum volunteer Marienne Ferguson as saying her Jewish family fled to Canada from Poland when she was 13, but that other relatives failed to flee before the German army arrived in Gdansk in 1939.

It quoted Ferguson as saying she told Charles about her family background and how she came to Canada, and that Charles then said to her: “And now Putin is doing just about the same as Hitler.”

The reported comments caused a media storm in Britain, where Charles has sometimes been accused of compromising the royal family’s political neutrality with his strong views on topics including education, architecture and the environment.

Labour Party lawmaker Mike Gapes tweeted that in a constitutional democracy, “monarchy should be seen and not heard.”

But Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said the prince was “free to express himself.”

“I have never been of this view that if you are a member of the royal family somehow you have to enter into some Trappist vow of silence,” Clegg told the BBC.

Prince Charles and Camilla meet with the crowds after arriving at an official welcoming ceremony in Halifax this week. During a conversation, Charles likened Russian President Vladmir Putin to Adolf Hitler, a report says.

The Canadian Press could not immediately reach Ferguson for comment about the report, but Ferguson later told the BBC it was “just a little remark. I didn’t think it was going to make such a big uproar.”

A spokeswoman for Clarence House, the residence of Prince Charles, told the news agency early Wednesday, “We don’t comment on private conversations.”

“We do like to stress that the Prince of Wales wouldn’t seek to make a political statement during a private conversation,” the spokeswoman added.

Tensions have grown between Putin and the West since Russia’s annexation of Crimea earlier this year.

Charles paid tribute to Manitoba, Wednesday, as he and his wife Camilla visited a Winnipeg aircraft hangar on the final day of their four-day visit to Canada.

Charles observed that things are different in the province from when he last visited 18 years ago, but one thing remains the same.

“So much has changed since my last visit to Manitoba in 1996,” he said. “But what has most assuredly not changed is the vitality of this province and the optimism for Canada’s future.”

Prince Charles, left, and his wife Camilla, left, throw paper airplanes with Prime Minister Stephen Harper during an event to mark aerospace and aviation in Manitoba day in Winnipeg on Wednesday, May 21, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

The royal couple was joined by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his wife Laureen at Red River College’s Stevenson aircraft hangar.

Charles and Camilla took turns throwing paper airplanes folded by children and were presented with a tiny aviator’s jacket for their grandson, Prince George.

The royal couple’s day in Winnipeg was also to include Charles feeding a polar bear at the Winnipeg Zoo and Camilla touring the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.

The prince was to speak at the legislature Wednesday evening at an Order of Manitoba investiture held just before a farewell ceremony for him and his wife.

Prince Charles, left, and Prime Minister Stephen Harper are greeted during an event to mark aerospace and aviation in Manitoba day in Winnipeg on Wednesday, May 21, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson